Location: Imperial University Auditorium — "Annual Talent & Spirit Showcase"
It was supposed to be a normal evening.
The school's largest event of the year.
Students gathered in dazzling costumes. Magic tricks, dance routines, sword demonstrations, musical duels.
A chance for future cultivators, business elites, and celebrity heirs to show off to the public.
A full auditorium. A livestream broadcast. Thirty thousand viewers and climbing.
And then, the lights cut out.
For exactly three seconds.
And when they returned—
Hei Long stood on the stage.
He wasn't on the program.
No one had seen him enter.
He simply appeared.
Black suit. No tie. Gloves off. Sleeves rolled.
And behind him, rising from the floor by spiritual lift, came a grand piano lacquered in black and silver, glowing with inscriptions.
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
